1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that records on a recording medium in accordance with image information.
2. Related Background Art
Computers and their peripheral equipment have made progress year after year in performance while, at the same time, being made smaller and available at lower costs. Particularly, with the appearance of notebook type personal computers, for example, the popularity of personal computers is remarkable due to their portability and capability to save installation space. Also, the recording apparatus of ink jet type, which is used as output means thereof, has a considerable market share for personal use, because it is comparatively inexpensive, and is smaller but capable of recording in colors.
Nevertheless, since a conventional recording apparatus of the above-described type is installed horizontally on a desk or the like, it requires at least an area approximately the same size of a recording medium to be used even when it has been made smaller as those currently available on the market. Also, if the unit that contains recording mediums and the unit that carries them out are arranged to face each other in the horizontal direction, the area occupied by the apparatus becomes inevitably larger. There is also a problem that considerable space should be secured on a desk for the installation thereof. With the notebook type personal computer which has increasingly become more popular, the problems of space saving and mobility no longer exist for the computer. Nevertheless, it is still required that the recording apparatus, such as a printer, be capable of saving space when serving as a peripheral device of such computer.
To meet such demand, the present invention has been designed. It is an object of the invention to provide an image recording apparatus capable of being installed with the smallest space possible.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus capable of being installed in various places with increased selectivity of installation modes with a smaller space requirement.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an image recording apparatus for recording images on a recording medium by use of recording means, which comprises a first housing provided with a feeding tray for containing recording mediums before recording by use of recording means; a second housing provided with an outlet tray for storing the recording mediums carried from the first housing; and coupling and carrying means for coupling the first housing and the second housing in such a manner as to be able to displace them relatively. This coupling and carrying means forms a flexible carrier path to guide a recording medium carried from the first housing to the second housing.
Other objectives and advantages besides those discussed above will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which follows. In the description, reference is made to accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which illustrate an example of the invention. Such example, however, is not exhaustive of the various embodiments of the invention, and therefore reference is made to the claims which follow the description for determining the scope of the invention.